• Margaret Darling, co-founder of Indie/Electro Pop darlings The Seedy Seeds,
takes over the Southgate House’s “Artist in Residence” series for
January, performing in the venue’s intimate Juney’s Lounge for free
every Wednesday this month. For this Wednesday’s kick-off show, Darling
teams up with singer/songwriter Chris Haubner (The Sheds) for the 9 p.m. show. On Jan. 12, she’ll be joined by Lisa Walker of Wussy, while the Jan. 26 show closes out the residency with Darling’s Seedy Seeds partner, Mike Ingram, performing a set. Darling has some sparse yet still compelling acoustic demos posted atwww.myspace.com/margaretdarling.

Lest you think this signals some kind of rift in Seedy
Seedworld, fear not — things will be heating up for the band in the next
few months. Last month, the group announced they’d been invited to
perform at the 2011 South By Southwest music conference/festival in
Austin, Tex., tracking for a new album has been completed (the release
is scheduled for the end of February) and a cross-country tour to
support the new effort is also in the works. (ww.theseedyseeds.com)

• Two of my personal all-time favorite local bands bitten
by the reunion bug recently are re-reuniting for a joint show this
Saturday at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. Rootsy rockers The Stapletons — featuring current members of Cash Flagg, Goose and Sparrow Bellows
— were a guiding light locally in the ’00s before parting ways to
pursue other interests.

The brothers-in-Rock reunited for the Popopolis
festival on Fountain Square this past October. Joining the Stapes for
Saturday’s free 10 p.m. show are The Speed Hickeys, a
Punk-and-beer-fueled melodic powerhouse in the late ’80s/early ’90s
(fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Ric Hickey, currently playing
with Sparrow Bellows). The trio played its first show in two decades at
the Jockey Club reunion bash at the Southgate House in November.

• In 2011, Hamilton’s Fitton Center for Creative Arts is again presenting its RocKamp
musical education program geared towards teens (13-19) with little to
no experience playing music with a band (younger players with more
experience are also permitted). The program puts the aspiring players in
a band setting and teaches them things like song structure, rhythm and
performing techniques. RocKamp kicks off Jan. 31 and meets Monday and
Tuesday evenings over four weeks. Acclaimed Blues/Rock guitarist Sonny Moorman and veteran drummer Pete Davidson
serve as the Kamp’s “music coaches.” The fee for the entire class run
is $150. To register, visit fittoncenter.org or call 513-863-8873 (ext.
110).

• Last Sunday marked the start of local Blues band Them Bones’
10th year hosting Mansion Hill Tavern’s weekly Blues jam and the
impressive streak at the Newport club shows no sign of ending any time
soon. The jams run every Sunday at Mansion Hill, starting at 8 p.m. Them
Bones celebrates another milestone — its 13th birthday — Feb. 4 with a
headlining show at the venue. (www.thembonesband.com)

• A longtime recording entity in the Dayton area, The Esther Caulfield Orchestra recently became a fully functional live unit thanks to the addition of, essentially, Cincy rockers Buffalo Killers.
Maestro M. Ross Perkins — backed by Killers Joseph Sebaali, Andrew
Gabbard and Zach Gabbard — play their first Cincinnati show this Friday
at Northside’s Comet with the Cincinnati Suds. A new album titled Cheerio! is due soon, while the rootsy, psychedelic band’s 2008 effort, Good Morning, Whiskey Breakfast, is currently available for free download viawww.whatistheorchestra.com.